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Daycare Worker and Former New Hampshire State Representative Plead Guilty in Federal Child Exploitation Case

Sentencings are set for February 2026 in a Project Safe Childhood prosecution.

Overview

  • The Justice Department announced that Lindsay Groves, 40, pleaded guilty on Oct. 14 to three counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distributing child pornography.
  • Former New Hampshire state representative Stacie Marie Laughton, 41, pleaded guilty on Nov. 3 to three counts of sexual exploitation of children.
  • Prosecutors say Groves took nude photos of children at the Creative Minds daycare in Tyngsborough between May 2022 and June 2023 and sent them to Laughton.
  • A forensic review found over 10,000 text messages between the pair during about one month in 2023, including transfers of at least four sexually explicit images of children estimated to be ages three to five.
  • Groves is set for sentencing on Feb. 4, 2026 and Laughton on Feb. 12, 2026, with all minor victims identified and the case brought with federal, state, and local assistance under Project Safe Childhood.